After 2009’s self-titled flick relaunched the Star Trek franchise, the reboot series of films last appeared via 2016’s Beyond. Never say never, but that run now seems kaput.

As of spring 2025, I know of no formal plans to launch a new Trek movie franchise on multiplex screens. However, the Paramount+ streaming network aired Section 31 in 2025, so we get a fresh Trek film in that venue.

In the Mirror Universe, teenaged Vulcan Philippa Georgiou (Miku Martinea) wins a brutal competition to lead the ruthless Terran Empire. As an adult (Michelle Yeoh), Georgiou managed to travel to the Prime Universe and become a member of Starfleet.

Georgiou now works as part of “Section 31”, a covert operation that works to protect the United Federation of Planets, albeit without the usual Starfleet sense of altruism. This sends her on a mission to go with others to find and deal with a potentially destructive weapon.

The Georgiou role debuted in fall 2017 via the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery. Though it launched not long after Beyond filled movie venues, Discovery offered the first new Trek TV program since Enterprise concluded in 2005.

That helped launch a bit of a Trek renaissance on the small screen. Five additional series have followed since Discovery’s debut, with at least one more in development.

The question becomes what happens to Trek films, whether theatrical or TV. Given the poor reception accorded to Section 31, I must assume Paramount will approach future endeavors of that sort with caution and skepticism.

When I looked up details about Section 31 on IMDB, I saw it came with a terrible 3.8 out of 10 rating from readers. However, it took that with a grain of salt, as I figured Internet incels might’ve rejected it because they didn’t care for the idea of an Asian woman as the lead.

However, critics didn’t like Section 31 either. With a brutal 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it appears few enjoyed this tale.

That foreknowledge sent me into Section 31 with pessimism. Still, I don’t always agree with the consensus so hope sprang eternal as I went into the movie.

Alas, my cautious optimism proved misguided. Section 31 delivers just as bad a stinker as the reviews imply.

Actually, Section 31 starts with some promise. Though not particularly original, the prologue with young Georgiou offers intriguing material.

Indeed, an entire feature that concentrated on this aspect of Georgiou’s life might’ve delivered something worthwhile. Unfortunately, the opening comes and goes quickly.

From there, we encounter a sequence that feels like a cutscene from the start of a bad 1990s videogame. Not only does it provide the clumsiest exposition imaginable, but also it sticks us with inane dialogue like “make no mistake – this dog bites!”

Ugh. If Section 31 improved from there, I could forgive that misstep, but instead, it just continues to sputter.

Our characters offer the standard action flick cliché “motley mismatched crew who need to join forces”, and none of the roles evolve above those meager origins. We get a mix of thinly-painted parts who never become interesting or involving.

These participants also tend to seem annoying too much of the time. Director Olatunde Osunsanmi appears to have simply told the actors go big! and left it at that, as across the board, they feel over the top and obnoxious.

That goes double for Yeoh as she camps her way through Georgiou. Because I never watched Discovery, I don’t know if she played the part like this in the past.

I do know that she overdoes the role here and depicts Georgiou broad in an unappealing manner. Rather than create a delicious anti-hero, Yeoh just irritates the viewer.

As does every aspect of Osunsanmi’s manic direction. Perhaps he sensed the lack of life in the dull script and figured he needed to ratchet the movie’s style to “11” to keep the viewer with Section 31.

Whatever the rationale behind Osunsanmi’s decisions, his choices fail – and fail badly. The hyperactive style feels like a desperate attempt to convince us that we should find ourselves entertained and energized.

But we don’t, as even with all the attempted pizzazz in the world, Section 31 suffers from one true fatal flaw: it’s boring. With a sketchy plot, flat characters and perfunctory action, this turns into a disappointing dud.

Star Trek: Section 31 appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie came with excellent Dolby Vision visuals.

Overall sharpness satisfied. Virtually the entire enterprise appeared well-defined and accurate.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws didn’t become an issue.

Colors tended toward a palette that favored a mix of blue/teal and amber/orange but it sprinkled in reds, purples and greens as well. The hues appeared full and rich, with extra power from HDR.

Blacks felt deep and dense, and shadows looked smooth and clear. HDR added oomph to whites and contrast. Section 31 presented positive picture quality.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos audio worked well. Of course, the soundfield fared best when the flick engaged in action, which happened enough to use the channels in a compelling manner.

Music showed good stereo imaging, and quieter scenes brought convincing environmental information. The soundscape created a nice complement to the visuals.

Audio quality seemed good. Music brought warm, vivid material.

Speech sounded concise and distinctive, while effects appeared accurate and packed a nice punch. The film came with above-average audio.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical Atmos audio.

However, the Dolby Vision image showed improvements in terms of sharpness, colors and blacks. As great as the BD looked, the UHD brought us an upgrade.

Five featurettes appear, and Alpha Squad runs 26 minutes, 26 seconds. It brings notes from executive producer Alex Kurtzman, screenwriter Craig Sweeny, director Olatunde Osunsanmi, costume designer Gersha Phillips, hair department head Ryan Reed, makeup department head Shauna Llewellyn, and actors Robert Kazinsky, Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, Sam Richardson, Humberly Gonzalez, Sven Ruygrok and Kacey Rohl.

The reel looks at cast, characters and performances, costumes, hair and makeup, and some effects. This one becomes a mix of happy talk and useful details.

Stunts Squad goes for 12 minutes, 49 seconds. It involves Osunsanmi, Ruygrok, Hardwick, Kazinsky, stunt coordinator Christopher McGuire, and fight coordinators George Tchortov and Max White.

Unsurprisingly, this one examines stunts and action. Like “Alpha”, the featurette gives us a combination of fluff and facts.

Next comes Art Squad. This one spans 11 minutes, eight seconds and provides remarks from Osunsanmi, Sweeny, production designer Paul Kirby, set decorator Summer Gaal, and actor Joe Pingue.

Here we cover sets and locations. The short delivers a pretty solid overview.

Gear Squad lasts 11 minutes, 37 seconds. It gives us material from Osunsanmi and property master Mario Moreira.

We find info about the tech displayed in the film. Moreira guides us through the creations for a fun take on the topic.

For the final featurette, we get Georgiou. This 15-minute, 22-second reel includes info from Osunsanmi, Yeoh, Kurtzman, Sweeny, Reed, Phillips, McGuire, stunt double Shara Kim and actor James Hiroyuki Liao.

As one might expect, this clip looks at the Georgiou character. Some fluff materializes, but we find a positive summary of the role.

Finally, the disc ends with a Gag Reel that occupies four minutes, 16 seconds and shows the usual goofs and silliness. A few funny moments emerge, though, so this becomes a better than average blooper collection.

This set includes a Blu-ray copy of Section 31. It offers the same extras as the 4K UHD.

As the first Star Trek movie in almost a decade, I hoped Section 31 would bring an exciting adventure. Unfortunately, while the flick desperately wants to seem frisky and fun, instead it just comes across as desperate. The 4K UHD boasts strong picture and audio along with a decent roster of bonus materials. Even the most dedicated Trek fans won’t find much to like about this lousy action flick.